Rivers’ comments that the star felt “great” ran counter with the league’s rules about why players can miss games.

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Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, was held out of Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks because of what was described, on the Clippers’ injury report, as “load management (knee).” As far as the league was concerned, Leonard missed the game because he was injured, not because he was resting. But when Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters that Leonard “feels great, but he feels great because of what we’ve been doing,” the NBA balked. (Photos by Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES — The NBA fined the Clippers $50,000 on Thursday for statements it deemed inconsistent with what the team reported to the league regarding Kawhi Leonard’s health, indicating in a news release “that Leonard is suffering from an ongoing injury to the patella tendon in his left knee.”

The famously private superstar, who joined the Clippers in free agency this offseason, confirmed that he’s been dealing with an injury that will continue to keep him from playing both games when they’re scheduled back to back.

Leonard also said he was not pleased with the league’s decision to reveal the nature of his injury.

“It was shocking, but it doesn’t matter to me, you know what I mean? I’m not a guy who reads the media anyway,” Leonard said. “We’re gonna manage it the best way we can to keep me healthy and that’s the most important thing, me being healthy moving forward.”

But as far as the league was concerned, the three-time All-Star missed the game (a 129-124 Clippers’ loss) because he was injured, not because he was resting.

It was the disparity between the rationale that Rivers offered for Leonard’s absence and the medical reason that violated league rules, the NBA said in the release.

“Following additional review of the L.A. Clippers not playing Kawhi Leonard in last night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA has confirmed that the team’s decision to sit Leonard for management of an injury was consistent with league rules. The team has reasonably determined that Leonard is suffering from an ongoing injury to the patella tendon in his left knee and has been placed by the team at this time on an injury protocol for back-to-back games.”

Leonard expressed disappointment in the league’s decision.

“I mean, for me, I’m on (Rivers’) side, you know what I mean?” Leonard said. “I’m a Clipper, he’s my coach, so that’s just disappointing. It feels like they want players to play if they’re not ready, but it is what it is. Like I said, I don’t read into it, I gotta do what’s gonna make me healthy and is gonna help the team be successful, and that’s me being able to play basketball games for us.”

Leonard – who is averaging 29 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals – also missed the first game of a back-to-back set last week in Utah. The Clippers also lost that game, which also was broadcast nationally by ESPN.

Those games off are helping him deal with the injury, he said.

“I mean, it just helps just from me pushing on something that’s not ready,” said Leonard, who scored a game-high 27 points Thursday. “So we’re just gonna keep managing it, moving forward. I’m not a doctor, that’s for the doctors and my training staff is for, letting me know. (I) just tell them how I feel and like I said, just gotta keep moving forward.”

Leonard played nine games in his final season with the San Antonio Spurs, in 2017-18, when he was suffering from a quadriceps injury. After being traded to Toronto the following offseason, Leonard stuck to a load management plan that kept him strategically sidelined for 22 of the Raptors’ games – and healthy enough for an extended playoff run that ended in the franchise’s first NBA title.

After signing with the Clippers, both the team and Leonard indicated that he didn’t plan to adhere to as stringent a load management schedule this season.

“It’s different this season,” Leonard said at media day. “Last year, I was going in with an injury that I was dealing with the year before still lingering, and we knew that I had to be healthy going throughout the season and making it to the playoffs. But this year I’m feeling good, feeling way better than I was at the start of last season. But there’s really no plan laid out yet.”

Meeting again with the media before Thursday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers – for which Leonard was in the lineup – Rivers was determined not to delve deeply back into the issue, saying he was “scared” even to answer questions related to load management. He also was careful about his response to the fine.

“I think we said it all,” Rivers said. “I’m not getting into it, so no is the answer. What we said, we said, and whatever the release was, which I haven’t seen, is the release.”

The league also fined the Clippers $50,000 for violating tampering following Rivers’ comments during last season’s playoffs, when the coach appeared in an ESPN special and compared Leonard with Michael Jordan, calling the Clipper-to-be “the most like Jordan we’ve seen.”

Remember, NBA doctors evaluate the medical info provided by the Clippers. The league doesn't take the team's word that Clippers aren't violating resting rules. Essentially, Rivers is trying to be supportive of Leonard in public — and it comes at cost of $50K for franchise. https://t.co/CmXSGXVIwh